Make a Heart Metronome. Conduct a pulse experiment. At each station have students do an activity for three minutes and then feel their pulse.

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1 Classroom Activities Key Concepts: 1. The heart is a muscle that acts like a pump. 2. In order to keep the heart healthy, proper exercise and diet are important. 3. The hearts beat faster during exercise. 4. Too much fat in the diet is unhealthy for the heart and may result in clogged blood vessels. Lesson Summary: At the heart station, students learned their heart is a muscle that acts as a pump for the body. It pumps blood throughout the body, bringing supplies to all parts of the body. The heart never gets a chance to rest. It is important to take good care of our heart. It is important to exercise to keep the heart strong. When you exercise your heart rate increases. It is important to eat healthy foods. Too much fat can clog blood vessels and be unhealthy for the heart. Make a Metronome Conduct a pulse experiment. At each station have students do an activity for three minutes and then feel their pulse. Was it fast or slow? The stations could be rest and relaxation (sitting), Jack s jumping (jumping jacks) weight lifter (lifting a stack of books). : See and Hear it Every time your heart beats it pushes blood through your blood vessels, bringing nourishment to your cells and taking waste away. The vessels that carry blood away from the heart to your body are called arteries. When blood is pumped through your arteries, it causes them to rhythmically enlarge and shrink in width. You can see this in arteries that are close to the skin. Materials needed: a toothpick a small eraser or a small lump of clay 1. Stick the end of the toothpick into a small eraser or lump of clay. 2. Hold your hand palm up and set the eraser on your wrist. Make sure it is placed on the outer edge of your wrist. 3. Now watch the toothpick closely. What happens?

2 68 Bodywalk Classroom Activities Checking Rate Purpose: Students will be able to find their resting heart rate and exercise heart rate. Supplies Needed: Students will need a copy of the handout to record their heart rate. First let s learn to measure your heart rate. Run your index and middle finger up your throat and then to the right. Can you feel your pulse? If you can you have found your carotid artery. Apply a slight amount of pressure to count your pulse. Activity and Rate Record Name Date: Resting Rate First Activity Second Activity Recovery Rate Use your index and middle finger, run these fingers up your throat and then to the right. Can you feel your pulse? If you can you have found your carotid artery. Apply a slight amount of pressure to count your pulse. Let s practice one time. When I say begin you count the number of beats. Begin counting with a zero and stop counting when I say stop. Teach the children how to calculate their pulse count a variety of ways. 1. First have the students take a 60 pulse second count. 2. Second have the students take a 30 second pulse count and multiply the number by Third have the students take a 15 second pulse count and multiply the number by Fourth have the students take a 10 second pulse count and multiply the number by 6. (Decide which pulse count is easiest for your class and do that pulse count each time.) 5. Have the children record their resting heart rate on the handout. First Activity: Now, have the students stand by their desk and step in place. Time the class for one minute. Okay, stop. Let s take our pulses again. Everyone find your pulse. Get ready, get set, go! Now, multiply the number you have by six and record your results in the box that says first activity. Please take your seats. We will do this again in a few minutes. Second Activity: After a few minutes have passed, have the students get out of their chairs one more time. This time have them hop for one minute. Ok, let s begin. Hop, hop, and hop. Time to stop. Find your pulse and get ready to count. Get ready, get set, go! Now, multiply the number of beats you counted by six and record your answer in the box labeled activity two. Everyone take a seat. Recovery Rate: Now that you ve rested a few minutes find your pulse again. Get ready, get set, go! Multiply the number by six and record it in the box titled recovery rate. Discuss how their hearts beat faster when they do aerobic exercises.

3 Bodywalk Classroom Activities 69 Hop Like a Bunny, Slither Like a Snake Purpose Gives students an opportunity to have fun while getting some physical activity. In order to keep the heart healthy it is important to do physical activities. Call out different animals for the students to imitate. The students should move across the room and back while they act like the animal. Ask the students think of some animals to imitate. Hop like a bunny Slither like a snake Swim like a fish Fly like a bird Hop like a kangaroo Crawl like a turtle Run like a horse Scurry like a mouse Prowl like a tiger

4 70 Bodywalk Classroom Activities Beats Purpose: Students will learn that the heart is a pump and the heart pumps blood out of the heart and to the rest of the body. Students will learn the size and the heart and where it is located. Supplies Needed: A Water Gun 1. Ask the students if they know what a pump is. Discuss gas pumps and old fashioned water pumps. Fill a water gun and squirt water into the air or into a bucket. Tell the class that a small pump in the water gun squirts the water out. Tell the class that the heart is a pump that sends blood through their bodies. 2. Ask the students what they think their heart looks like. Have the students draw a picture of what they think their heart looks like. Show the students an actual picture of a heart. Have each student make a fist. Explain that the heart is about the same size as the student's fist. Have each student place their fist slightly to the left on their chest. This is where the heart is. Your heart is about the same size as your fist. 3. Have the students pretend they are popcorn popping. Have the students stand in place by their desks, and hop up and down like they are popcorn popping. Ask the students if they feel their heart beating faster.

5 Bodywalk Classroom Activities 71 The Right Lung Left Lung Artery Aorta Artery Veins Superior Vena Cava Trunk Right Atrium Left Atrium Veins Inferior Vena Cava Right Ventricle Aorta Left Ventricle Myocardium The heart is a pump that sends blood through our bodies.

6 72 Bodywalk Classroom Activities Make Stethoscopes Supplies Needed: two plastic funnels 2 feet of rubber or plastic tubing modeling clay 1. Push a funnel into each end of the tubing. Secure with a blob of clay. 2. Hold one of the funnels to your ear and the other over a friend s or your chest, slightly to the left. Listen for the lub-dub sounds of the heart. Trivia: Your blood makes 1,000 complete trips around your body each day. Each trip takes less than one minute.